Elder and Sister Condie Mission Blog: August 9, 2015

It happened. I got sick! It just makes me so crazy! I was sick at the MTC back in February and it caught up to me this week. Not very fun. But I have been trying to hang in there and get some things done. Steve has been very patient. He is the best companion ever!! We had some great visits this week! We were lucky enough to visit Pres Anton and Ann for a wonderful dinner in their home for FHE! She of course spoiled me with no spice and Steve has to suffer for it! But it was so delicious! Fish and pork dishes with potatoes and rice and dhal and pineapple cauliflower salad......yum! It was great to visit with them. They are very very busy people so we enjoyed having the time with them! Our sweet Sister Sonali, the primary president, moved to Hawaii this week so they had a little party for her. It was fun to see some of these ladies get together and enjoy each other! They laugh and eat...and eat off each others plates...and do some of the things that I would do with my friends back home! We went to a food court in one of the malls and had quite the assortment to choose from. I will miss Sonali! She is really a sweetheart! But happy for her new adventure! It is hard for these sisters who turn 30 and have no prospects for marriage here. I so hope she can find a great guy because she deserves it! We left the mall and went riding in the swan paddle boats on Berrai lake! It was fun. They like to take a lot of selfies and it cracks me up! Such fun people! We went to Darshini's home for seminary class. It was really great with those kids! They are just the best ever! We really love being with them...the whole family! The work of the spirit is so amazing! To watch the difference from our very first visit, up to now, is incredible. Deek told us that he used to just throw his Book of Mormon in the corner and then if someone came he would try and find it once in awhile. Now he says he loves reading it and learning and feels very excited about the gospel. And Deyan too! We love them!!! Our visit with Inoka and Naveen was great again! The elders came with us and taught the lesson. We did piano and english and had a great visit. I wasn't feeling well by then (of course it didn't help that I took medicine with codeine in it before we left)! I ended up going home and Steve went with the elders to visit Zeeniya. Zeeniya is doing so good! She just loves the gospel and church and everything! She is the best! We had English and piano. Steve thinks teaching english is the best....mostly because of the great people who have been coming to our class week after week. They are really a lot of fun. We were sad to hear that our Chinese father and son are headed back to China. His wife is staying to teach. They are really great. The people in the class really enjoy the little boy. He is really funny! After class, they gave us a good luck tassel thing for each of us. It was really nice of them. They are a good family. Friday was another trip to Negombo. First, piano of course and also I taught a dance to "Shake it off" for the Relief Society sisters to do for the district relief society conference!!! I am way too old to be bopping around. The ladies are so fun and nice! We had a good time! We had been asked by the elders to come and do a family home evening with Nishantha's family. (Our beloved pot guy!) We found out that it was their youngest son, Shevon, 13th birthday. They had a cake and candles. They had invited some of the kids who's father works in the plant, come and have some cake. They are a refugee family from Pakistan. Very nice boys! It is the custom that when it is your birthday, you feed your parents the first bite of cake and then your siblings. It was fun watching that. Then we all got a piece. It really floors them that we can not drink tea! We sat outside after the sun had gone down. It was actually pretty nice outside! The elders conducted the family home evening. We had a song and I said the prayer. Then they turned the time over to us. I told them a little about what family home evening was and how we used to do it in our home. Steve talked about the proclamation to the family . We had actually copied it off and bought a frame and put it in that and gave it to them. I don't know how interested the kids were. They were nice though. The daughter is 18 and the other son is 22. After, we went back into the house and played spoons. Finally I saw the mother break a smile when we were playing that. It turned out pretty fun. She fed us some french fries and other things and then served the cake that I had made to everyone. Very nice family! Long ride back to Colombo but worth it! But by the time I got home, I really didn't feel well so I asked Steve to give me a blessing. I am extremely blessed to be able to have him do that for me. Slept very good after that!! Saturday is piano and then our trip to Chilaw. We took the Colombo elders with us because we had another baptism interview. We dropped off Elder Wijendren with the Negombo elders in Negombo and went on to Chilaw with Elder Perera. We had a good english class and had one piano lesson until the power went out. The english class could go on but the keyboards would not work without the "current"! Oh well, we still enjoy these wonderful people. Pumi is going to be baptized next week on her birthday! She has invited us to a dinner on Saturday to help celebrate. So nice! We met up with all the elders in Negombo and had some dinner before heading back home. There again....it got me in the evening and I just didn't feel all that well. But the day was great and we were able to enjoy the wonderful people! Sunday....another wonderful day! We now have a program every week with the announcements and agenda for the day, etc. It is really great! We also have a newsletter that they are starting with pictures and fun stuff on it. The changes around here are awesome! Such a great feeling in the air around everyone! Our nano car driver, Benedict, has been driving us around a lot the past month. We had him scheduled to pick us up at the church today to take us to Negombo. He remembered that Darshini's family (the people we teach seminary too) lived pretty close to him. So he stopped by and asked if they would like a ride to church because he was going to get us anyway. So they did! He brought them and then stayed for Sacrament and sunday school with us! That was a very nice thing for him to do! We were so moved by that! Sister Inoka talked today! We were so proud of her. She spoke in Singalese but we could feel her sweet spirit. She was very emotional! We stayed for Sunday school but then left for Negombo again for a baptism! They had it following church there. Her name is Nilanka Fernando. She was very sweet! It was a very nice baptism. We were happy to be there! We came back home after and fed the missionaries! Fun Sunday night! Fun mission! Fun day!